Dell Precision M4700 replacement suggestions
 

I'm needing to replace my aging Dell Precision M4700 laptop (Intel i7 4core, 8GB RAM, 512GB HDD, Nvidia Quadro K1000M, 15" screen) soon, which I've had since 2012/2013 and since then all I've done was the free upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10. So it's done me well. In addition to the usual home computer stuff, I also use it for simple and small size finite element analysis and computational fluid dynamics models (<128k nodes and <1M nodes respectively) in my free time playing about using the free student version of Ansys: https://www.ansys.com/academic/students/ansys-student. My proper FEA/CFD work is not done on this laptop as it's far too demanding using the commercial software version. I bought my M4700 from Dell UK and although I cannot recall the price I paid (probably between £1k-£1.5k). It does seem that now you don't get as much "bang for your buck" and the Precision 5000 series are more than £2k. Dell are re-doing their laptop range and Precision will be dropped (https://uk.pcmag.com/laptops/157124/...025-pc-rebrand) but the new Dell Pro Max models do not have discrete GPU cards .

Looking for recommendations/suggestions for a replacement laptop. Thanks

Take a look at Lenovo's Thinkpad P-series. They're workstation-class laptops, very similar to the Precision you have. I'd argue that they're better-built and certainly have better keyboards. They aren't cheap, but £1500 in 2012 is equal to £2125 with inflation.
https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/c/lapto...pad/thinkpadp/

At the same time, if the software will even load on your old laptop, especially with 8GB RAM, most laptops today will easily handle it. The Thinkpad P series also has many discrete GPU options, from reasonable to ridiculous price.

HP has workstation-class laptops, but with ridiculous prices, and I've had issues with HP laptops having poor thermal design.

All our work laptops, desktops and the FEA/CFD server are all Dell, so I (unreasonably) gravitate towards them thinking they are the best:rolleyes:. So the best option at Dell UK is the Precision 3590 (https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/cty/...15-3590-laptop) considering specs and price (£1695). It looks to be the Nvidia RTX 500 Ada GPU card that is putting it in at the entry level Precision 3xxx series yet has 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD. I'll look into that Lenovo P-series.

I should go for 16GB RAM as the minumum for small size, simple FEA/CFD for when I'm tinkering about at home. Regarding the discrete GPU card, there is a list here of those tested: https://www.ansys.com/content/dam/re...hics-cards.pdf.

Thanks

If you need a GPU and want to stay on the Dell Precision line, they are still selling the last generation Precision laptops with GPUs. Or you can wait until the Dell Pro Max Plus and Dell Pro Max Premium (that's a mouthful) lines launch (those are the replacements for the higher end Precision models, Dell Pro Max is only the budget Precision models).

I have had a Dell Vostro for about 3 years and it doesn't appear that Dell makes that line anymore looking at their website. I like it because it is sturdier than the typical Inspiron that I would get but not a super duper laptop (with the corresponding price) and I am someone who needs something quasi sturdy and better able to survive potential coffee/water spills.. Looking to replace at some point in the near future when there's a sale. I don't need a ton of capacity or to use it for stuff like gaming or even touchscreen but I want it sturdy and either 16 or 17 inches.

The new Dell Pro line (Not Dell Pro Max or Dell Pro Plus or Dell Pro Premium), is probably the closest thing to the Vostro. You can also check out Lenovo Thinkbooks, they, like the Vostro, are the laptops that are more rugged than normal consumer laptops, but not as expensive as the full business Thinkpad.

I'm going to push for Thinkpads (not to be confused with ThinkBook). We still have people in my office using circa-2010 Thinkpad T510s and circa-2014 T540p laptops as daily drivers. Granted, they're fully-loaded systems. Actually about half of our users are still on the older Thinkpads, including partners and execs.

We used to be an all-Dell shop. They'd break, Dell would have someone out the next day to repair them, life was good... the techs they sent were great, nice people too. BUT... we were seeing their techs way too often. I asked one of them about that and he quietly said, "Buy a Thinkpad." Apparently he also provides service for Lenovo as well, but he pointed out that he very rarely got called out for Lenovos. While I still use Dell servers, desktops and laptops have been Lenovo ever since. 1 service call. Bad (noisy) fan at delivery.

Don't forget to look at the used market. Used enterprise gear is dirt cheap because of the volume of it out there. When corporations refresh their fleets, they do so by the hundreds. I haven't bought a new Dell server in 20 years, all used.

Mostly only corporate laptops uses Dell's Precision line, if you are just using it for personal use, why not get a budget gaming laptop with discrete graphic card? I think any budget gaming laptop in 2025 would be faster than your 2012 laptop. It would be a more bang for your bucks option than buying the overpriced Dell's business laptop targeting big corporations.

My current work laptop is a Dell Precision with GPU from 2023 refresh. My personal laptop is a HP Omen gaming laptop with Nvidia 3070. The work's purchase price for the Precision was 3x the price of the HP Omen, but the Omen blown the Precision away in everything, performance, graphic, screen, etc....

In the end I got a Dell Precision 5690 with Intel Ultra 7 155H CPU, 1TB SSD, 32GB RAM and a Nvidia RTX 1000 Ada GPU from the Dell Outlet Shop https://www.dell.com/en-uk/dfh/lp/outlet. There is a 15% discount coupon for the Precision 5000 series. As a Certified Refurbished, it looks brand new and no flaws. So happy with that.

FYI - I ultimately ended up purchasing a Dell Pro Max 16 (MC16250) BTX Base on Monday (wanted to make sure to make the purchase before 12/31 for expensing purposes). It arrived yesterday and while certainly much more expensive than I was planning (even with $300 off, after adding the three year comprehensive warranty and Adobe Professional it clocked in just under $2K), once I pulled it out of the packaging I knew it was what I really needed - its a rather sturdy hefty laptop and it had the number of ports I wanted (I looked at the regular Dell Pros and I didn't like how few ports there were and they didn't have the type of back hinge that my Vostro has (which I upgraded to precisely because I completely the hinge of my laptop before that and this has been really good tolerating my abuse). I will fully admit that I can be a total menace to stuff (you should see how much stemware I break in a year).

Unlike my current laptop which I was just in a hurry to transfer everything over, I do want to figure out how to transfer over just select items because by doing so I ended up transferring over a bunch of old crap that I didn't want.